Breast cancer can arise from cancerous cells in the breasts. It is the second most prevalent type of cancer in women after skin cancer. While breast cancer can also affect men, it affects women much more frequently.
The cancerous condition known as breast cancer develops in breast cells. Breast cancer develops when some breast cells begin to grow irregularly. These cells reproduce and multiply more rapidly than healthy cells, resulting in a mass or lump.
Cells may move through your breast to your lymph nodes or other parts of your body. Breast cancer awareness programmes and research have received significant funding, enabling disease diagnosis and treatment improvements.
Breast cancer survival rates have improved, and the number of fatalities related to the disease is gradually decreasing. This is partly because of earlier identification, a new personalised treatment approach, and a better knowledge of the illness. Here you can see about breast cancer diagnosis and treatment:
Diagnosing breast cancer
The following tests and techniques are used to identify breast cancer:
- Breast exam: Your doctor will feel for lumps or other abnormalities in your lymph nodes in the armpit and both of your breasts.
- Mammogram: Doing X-ray on the breast is mammography. Mammograms are frequently used as a breast cancer screening tool. Your doctor might advise diagnostic mammography if an abnormality is found on a screening mammogram to assess that anomaly further.
- Breast sonography: Ultrasound employs sound waves to create pictures of inside organs at great depths. If a new breast lump is found to be a solid mass or a cyst filled with fluid, an ultrasound may be performed to identify it.
- Breast cell sample for analysis: The only reliable technique to diagnose breast cancer is through a biopsy. Your doctor performs a biopsy using a specialised needle instrument to remove a core of tissue from a questionable location while being guided by an X-ray or other imaging test. In order to make the location simple to identify on upcoming imaging examinations, a small metal marker is frequently left at the surgical site inside your breast.
Experts in a laboratory analyse biopsy samples to ascertain whether the cells are malignant. The biopsy sample’s analysis determines the type of cells involved in breast cancer, its aggressiveness, and whether the cancer cells have hormone receptors or other receptors that could affect your treatment options.
Magnetic resonance imaging for the breast. An MRI machine produces images of your breast’s interior using a magnet and radio waves. You get a dye injection before a breast MRI. An MRI does not employ radiation to produce the images, unlike other imaging procedures.
After diagnosing breast cancer, your doctor will attempt to determine the extent of the disease. The cancer stage influences the optimal treatment options and your prognosis.
Staging breast cancer
It is possible that you won’t know the exact stage of your cancer until after your breast cancer surgery.The following tests and techniques may be used to stage breast cancer:
- A complete blood count is one example of a blood test.
- To check for cancer indications, the other breast will have a mammogram.
- Bone scan and breast MRI
- CT scan for computerised tomography
- PET scan, or positron emission tomography
Only some women will require all of these examinations and treatments. Based on your circumstances and considering any new symptoms you may be having, your doctor decides whether tests are necessary.
The stages of breast cancer range from 0 to IV, with 0 denoting noninvasive or milk duct-contained malignancy. Metastatic breast cancer, commonly known as stage IV breast cancer, denotes the spread of the disease to additional body parts.
Breast cancer staging also considers the grade of your cancer, tumour markers, including oestrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors, and proliferation factors.
Symptoms
Breast cancer symptoms and signs might include:
- Breast tissue that seems thicker or lumpier than the rest of the breast
- A breast’s size, shape, or appearance changing
- Skin changes on the breasts, like dimpling
- A recently flipped nipple
- The pigmented region of skin around the nipple or breast skin peels, scales, crusts, or flakes.
- Over your breast, there may be redness or pitting similar to that of an orange.
Causes
According to medical professionals, some breast cells that proliferate oddly cause breast cancer. These cells procreate and grow faster than healthy cells, accumulating into a bulk or lump. Cells may pass through your breast to your lymph nodes or other body areas.
Breast cancer cells typically come from the milk production process. Breast cancer may develop from other cells or tissues within the breast, such as the glandular tissue known as the lobules.
A study suggests that environmental, behavioural, and hormonal factors can all increase the risk of breast cancer. Uncertainty surrounds why some people with risk factors never get cancer while others do.
How is breast cancer treated?
Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted medication therapy are just a few breast cancer treatments available. The position and size of the tumour, the outcomes of your lab tests, and if cancer has spread to other regions of your body are just a few of the variables that will determine what is best for you. Your healthcare professional will customise your treatment plan to meet your individual needs.
The majority of women with breast cancer have surgery, and many get additional treatments like radiation, hormone therapy, or chemotherapy after the procedure. In some circumstances, chemotherapy may be administered as a preoperative treatment.
Making difficult treatment decisions due to the abundance of breast cancer treatment options may leave you feeling overwhelmed.
Why Choose India for Breast Cancer Treatment?
India is the one of the rare countries which has advance technologies to treat breast cancer, also Indian doctors are qualified and experienced for treating even most complicated breast cancer cases. The best breast cancer hospitals in India offer breast cancer treatment at affordable cost that cannot be matched even by mid-level hospitals of the USA or European countries.
Final thoughts
Thus the above listed are about breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Breast cancer can be easily cured if treated early, and else, it will create significant problems down the road. If you experience any breast cancer symptoms, consult doctor right away.
